![\"Christmas](\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-christmas-day-male-mia-mcpherson-3425.jpg\" "\\"Christmas")
Christmas Day American Kestrel \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/2000, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\nI adore American Kestrels and I was especially thrilled to have this handsome male in my viewfinder two years ago. He was a very cooperative bird.<\/p>\n
I feel that I should mention that the background was the sky and that the slightly odd color was caused by Utah’s infamous winter inversion<\/span><\/a>. Note: That means the pollutants were trapped in the valley and we were all breathing that crap in, including the birds.<\/p>\n Yesterday afternoon the sun broke through the gray clouds that have plagued the Salt Lake Valley for days on end. I headed down the hill to take a walk and stretch my legs because I have been feeling cooped up due to the bad weather. As I walked around my neighborhood pond I had wonderful views of the hazy Wasatch Mountains Range and the clouds that hung over the peaks. I couldn’t resist taking a few Christmas Eve photos of the mountains lit up by the slowly setting sun. It might be the last sunshine I see until the New Year if<\/em> the long range forecast is accurate.<\/p>\n It felt wonderful to stretch my legs and get a little bit of exercise in yesterday.<\/p>\n Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n Mia<\/p>\n Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my American Kestrel photos plus facts and information about this species. Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Utah landscape photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I photographed this Christmas Day American Kestrel in 2020 at Farmington Bay WMA. That Christmas Day was bright and sunny, today isn’t going to be at all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":108985,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[152,27,1022,697,709,26,773],"tags":[4004,6676,155,4525,2038,4101,4199,4078,4279,5632,2059,10716,4062,4094,4069,6910,4104,4018,4050,1164,4176,4095,373,13570,8917],"class_list":["post-108991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-kestrel","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","category-wasatch-mountains","tag-adult","tag-afternoon","tag-american-kestrel","tag-christmas-day","tag-christmas-eve","tag-clouds","tag-falco-sparverius","tag-falcon","tag-falcons","tag-falcons-of-utah","tag-haze","tag-hazy","tag-male","tag-marsh","tag-mountains","tag-peaks","tag-perched","tag-sky","tag-snow","tag-wasatch-mountain-range","tag-wasatch-mountains","tag-wetlands","tag-winter","tag-winter-inversion","tag-wooden-post"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/american-kestrel-christmas-day-male-mia-mcpherson-3425.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-slV","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":109584,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/01\/13\/female-american-kestrel-on-a-tree-top\/","url_meta":{"origin":108991,"position":0},"title":"Female American Kestrel On A Tree Top","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent a few moments photographing a gorgeous female American Kestrel on a tree top yesterday morning at Farmington Bay WMA.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Saucy looking female American Kestrel, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/american-kestrel-female-tree-top-mia-mcpherson-8016.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/american-kestrel-female-tree-top-mia-mcpherson-8016.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/american-kestrel-female-tree-top-mia-mcpherson-8016.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/american-kestrel-female-tree-top-mia-mcpherson-8016.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":110181,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/02\/12\/female-american-kestrel-get-off-my-lawn-look\/","url_meta":{"origin":108991,"position":1},"title":"Female American Kestrel Get Off My Lawn Look","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 12, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"When I viewed this American Kestrel photo my first thought was if this isn't a \"get off my lawn look\" then I have never seen a get off my lawn look from anyone.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Kestrel Get Off My Lawn look, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/american-kestrel-female-get-off-my-lawn-look-mia-mcpherson-2637.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/american-kestrel-female-get-off-my-lawn-look-mia-mcpherson-2637.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/american-kestrel-female-get-off-my-lawn-look-mia-mcpherson-2637.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/american-kestrel-female-get-off-my-lawn-look-mia-mcpherson-2637.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15688,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/08\/22\/female-american-kestrel-on-a-frosty-winter-morn\/","url_meta":{"origin":108991,"position":2},"title":"Female American Kestrel On A Frosty Winter Morn","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"American Kestrels are year round residents in Utah and when the cold sets in they are less skittish and will allow closer approaches.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female American Kestrel on a frosty perch at Farmington Bay WMA, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-female-perched-mia-mcpherson-7275.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-female-perched-mia-mcpherson-7275.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-female-perched-mia-mcpherson-7275.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":31778,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/11\/05\/a-male-american-kestrel-fluffed-up-on-a-cold-utah-morning\/","url_meta":{"origin":108991,"position":3},"title":"Male American Kestrel fluffed up on a cold Utah morning","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"While working on my new photo galleries I came across this image of a male American Kestrel fluffed up on a cold Utah morning taken back in the winter of 2010.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male American Kestrel fluffed up on a cold Utah morning in front of fog and the western slope of the Wasatch Mountain Rage.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-perched-mia-mcpherson-8073.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-perched-mia-mcpherson-8073.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-perched-mia-mcpherson-8073.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18140,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/12\/23\/female-kestrel-with-prey-on-a-snowy-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":108991,"position":4},"title":"Female Kestrel With Prey On A Snowy Day","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 23, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been seeing plenty of American Kestrels lately but none have been close enough to get nice images of so I pulled this one out of my archives from 2010.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Female Kestrel with prey on a snowy day, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/american-kestrel-female-prey-mia-mcpherson-9662.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/american-kestrel-female-prey-mia-mcpherson-9662.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/american-kestrel-female-prey-mia-mcpherson-9662.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/american-kestrel-female-prey-mia-mcpherson-9662.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":76590,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/12\/26\/five-bird-photos-from-christmas-day-2020\/","url_meta":{"origin":108991,"position":5},"title":"Five Bird Photos From Christmas Day 2020","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Much to my delight I was able to photograph some birds on Christmas Day at Farmington Bay WMA yesterday morning.","rel":"","context":"In "American Kestrels"","block_context":{"text":"American Kestrels","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/falcons\/american-kestrel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult male American Kestrel on a wooden post, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-male-post-mia-mcpherson-3511.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-male-post-mia-mcpherson-3511.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-male-post-mia-mcpherson-3511.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/american-kestrel-male-post-mia-mcpherson-3511.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108991\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Hazy](\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/wasatch-mountains-christmas-eve-sunshine-mia-mcpherson-6655.jpg\" "\\"Hazy")
Hazy Wasatch Mountain Range on Christmas Eve afternoon \u2013 Nikon D500, f10, 1\/1000, ISO 640, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 140mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\nMerry Christmas!<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n